Prefabricated panels have become increasingly popular in the building industry in order to provide a satisfactory structure which can be erected in less time and therefore reduced savings than prior conventional building materials and techniques. The panels can be mass produced remote from the actual construction site and then shipped to the site where they are erected on a structure frame work in a relatively short time. This enables the building to be enclosed more quickly than heretofore possible enabling the interior work to be begun earlier in the construction schedule. Thus, both the formation of the panels and their erection at the building site is less effected by inclement weather and surrounding conditions. Use of such prefabricated panels also eliminates the need for elaborate scaffolding and becomes very economical on buildings over several stories high.
Metal and precast concrete panels have been used in the construction industry for years and have been used for receiving, or having formed as a part thereof, an exterior surface of various types of materials in order to provide an attractive appearance for the building. Heretofore, the basic components of these prior prefabricated panels are a steel stud framing with a gypsum sheeting attached thereto with an outer or intervening layer of insulation. A thin veneer coat of synthetic plaster or Portland cement is applied to the gypsum sheeting and a reinforcing mesh of wire or fabric is embedded in the veneer. These prior panels did provide improved thermal propertires and were lightweight and low in cost. In these prior prefabricated panels and systems using a coat of mortar or cement in combination with a wire or fabric mesh, the mortar coat is always attached to or mounted on a structural sub-base such as a gypsum sheet or other type of sheeting which in turn is attached to the spaced frame members or studs. This provided a multilayer system having problems with respect to water intrusion, delamination and differential thermal expansion and contraction.
Also, the methods or sequence of steps for fabricating such prior panels, although reducing the amount of time for erecting the same in contrast to forming the resultant structure on the job site, still requires more time than desirable in order to reduce the cost. In these prior prefabricated panels, the supporting substrate or gypsum sheet is attached to the spaced frame members by the use of self tapping sheet metal screws. Next an expanded stamped metal lath is attached to the gypsum sheet with self tapping sheet metal screws. Then a coating of Portland cement is applied over the metal lath, and after drying a thin leveling coat is added. In the final step a layer of grout or setting bed is applied for attaching the tile. However, the resulting mesh reinforced cement was always supported by the sheeting. Next, a layer of mortar or grouting is applied to the outer surface of the cement for securing facing brick, tile or the like thereon.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved prefabricated panel and method of making the same which eliminates the problems encountered with prior prefabricated panels which use a separate structural element on which the mesh encapsulating mortar or cement is attached. There is no known prefabricated panel construction and method of making the same of which I am aware which eliminates these problems by using an encapsulated three dimensional wire mesh as a structural member which is attached directly to the metal frames or studs for mounting the facing tile or brick thereon.